Girl of Ashes
by BreeBree12345
Summary: "I volunteer as tribute!" I yelled, my voice projecting throughout the entire crowd. Katniss froze from where she stood surrounded by peacekeepers. Steadying my voice, I stared straight into Effie's eyes. "I volunteer as tribute." I repeated. The story of how The Girl Made of Ashes survived the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games and became the leader of a revolution. OCx? Cato or Peeta?
1. Chapter 1

Crouching my body, I slowly hid myself behind the trunk of an oak tree. I cursed in my mind as my foot brushed up against a dead leaf. I held my breath and tightened my grip on my throwing knife as my target froze; its body seeming as if it had turned to stone. A gust of wind blew from behind me, bringing my scent along with it towards my prey.

The deer took off without the slightest hesitation as it had no doubt smelled me. I sighed angrily.

Picking up the dead leaf that had given me away in the first place, I crushed it in the palm of my hand before letting the wind caress the pieces from my fingertips.

"The wind has changed its direction? And so soon. That's strange." I muttered to myself. It always seemed as if the forest was laughing at me every time I slipped up.

Standing up from my crouch, I stretched before making my way gracefully to my pack already full of squirrels and a few rabbits. Opening the sack, I counted my kills.

Five squirrels, and three rabbits.

Smiling, I slung the pack over my shoulder and tucked my knife into a hollow opening of a tree. Looking around deftly, I slid the quiver of arrows off of my other shoulder and placed it next to my long bow under a rotting log.

"Lorrelais!"

Whipping around, I watched as my younger sister maneuvered her body around the low hanging branches separating us.

"Katniss? What are you doing out here? It's my day to hunt."

"Prim's getting worried. You said you would be back by mid-day! Have you forgotten what day it is?"

Frowning, I turned away from her and started the long trek to the electric fence.

"Being put into a lottery where you can be picked to kill other children isn't exactly forgettable, Kat." I muttered angrily. I ducked down and slipped nimbly through the hole in the fence leading into our district.

"I can't believe you." She scoffed, shaking her head in disdain, "I understand that we need the food, but today is the most dangerous time to go outside of the district. I got enough kills yesterday when I went with Gale."

"Yes, but how long can we live on two squirrels between the four of us?"

"Lorrie, I-" she started.

"Enough, Katniss. We are back now, that's all that matters. Now go get dressed, please." I commanded, staring down into her gray eyes with my own blue ones.

Wiping the emotion from her face, she nodded stiffly and jogged the last few feet to our home.

Rubbing my hand down my face, I couldn't help but think that I was always so hard on her. Ever since our father died in a mining accident and our mother decided to abandon us, both emotionally and verbally, Katniss had taken on the mother role while I, the oldest sibling at eighteen, had to be the 'man of the house'.

Stepped through the doorway, laying my bag down on the worn down kitchen table.

"Mom?" I looked over to see my youngest sister Prim looking up at our mother, fully dressed and ready for the Reaping. Before mom could say anything, Katniss swooped in and kneeled down to her.

"Aw, look at you." she smiled warmly, "You look beautiful."

Laughing quietly under my breath, I walked over and place my hand gently on her blond hair, "But you better tuck in that tail, little duck."

Katniss chuckled, tucking in the shirt tail of Prim's blouse.

"I laid out something for the both of you, too."

Glancing behind me, I gave a slight nod to my mother.

Katniss, her eyes still trained on Prim, replied, "Okay." Before hesitantly making her way to her room. I awkwardly shuffled out of the room, not wanting to make any conversation with my mother.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I admired the deep gray dress my mother had lain out for me. It went to my knees and was short-sleeved, made out of cotton material. Braiding my raven hair into a messy bun, I lightly lined my lower lids with ash from our fireplace.

With a final glance, I pulled on my dress shoes and went to the kitchen to meet up with my sisters.

Right as I got to them, the horn blew.

Paling, I looked over at their faces.

"We'll be okay," I hesitated, "Prim's name is only in their once, and Katniss you don't have too many either."

Grasping each other's hands, we made out way to the Justice Building.

"Lorrelais?"

"Yeah Katniss?" I asked.

"How many times is your name in there?"

I remained silent, even as her worried eyes made a hole in the side of my head. "Enough."

"Lorrie, look at me," she commanded. Glancing over at her, I saw her face had turned even paler. "How many times?"

"Katniss, don't worry about it. I won't be picked. I know it." I assured her, tightening my grip on her hand slightly.

As we entered the town square, I released their hands and got in line to check in. One by one, more and more children flooded into the square. Grabbing my hand, the peacekeeper pricked my finger before scanning my blood.

Lorrelais Everdeen. 18 yrs. Old.

"Lorrie!"

Turning around, I saw my best friend Lauren trying to catch up to me. Offering a slight smile, she grabbed my hand with hers. "Are you ready?" she questioned as we made our way over to the eighteen year old section.

Sighing shakily, "No. I have a bad feeling about this year."

Lauren nodded sadly. "How many times is your name in there?"

"Sixty-three."

Her eyes widened and filled with unshed tears.

"Sixty-three, Lorrie? Sixty-three?" She cried.

"It was the only way to keep Katniss from signing up for tesserae herself." I consoled her, "Besides. I have a feeling that it won't be me this year. But someone much worse."

Still upset, she looked at me with questioning eyes, "What do you mean?"

I shook my head. "Nothing, I'm sure it's just my imagination."

Nodding her head slowly, Lauren gripped my hand tighter as our district escort, Effie Trinket, dolled up in an all pink dress suit with a pink wig and pink makeup took the stage.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome! Happy Hunger Games! And, may the odds be ever in your favor. Now, before we begin, we have a very special film brought to you all the way from the Capitol!"

I turned slightly to Lauren and mouthed the entire video, never once making a mistake. She placed a hand over her mouth to muffle a snort.

When it finally ended, Effie dabbed at her eyes with a pink handkerchief.

"I just love that!" She said, "Now, the time has come for us to select one courageous young man and woman, for the honor of representing District Twelve in the seventy-fourth annual Hunger Games. As usual, ladies first."

Walking over to the glass bowl settled in the middle of the stage, she made a show of fishing her hand around for a slip. Showing the crowd the paper dramatically, she opened it slowly before clearing her throat, "Katniss Everdeen."

A strangled sound left my mouth. I suddenly couldn't move, or breath. It felt like all the air had been stolen from my lungs.

I watched as the girls from the sixteen year old division split and my sister stepped hesitantly forward.

Not her, not my little sister! Sure, we never really got along but I still loved her. Now she's going to die, like a pig to the slaughter.

Frowning, my hand tightened into a fist. I suddenly knew what I had to do.

Pushing my way through the girls surrounding me, I called out, "Katniss!"

She turned back, her horrified face paling as she saw me heading towards her. I ran forward and grabbed her in a hug before peacekeepers grabbed me by my arms and tried to rip me away from her. We held each other as tight as possible.

"Let go, Lorrie. You have to let me go. Take care of Mom and Prim." She said hurriedly, trying to retain her strong façade.

"No! No!" I screamed as I was ripped away from her.

"No! Please!" I stuggled violently. "I volunteer as tribute!" I yelled, my voice projecting throughout the entire crowd.

Katniss froze from where she stood surrounded by peacekeepers.

Steadying my voice, I stared straight into Effie's eyes. "I volunteer as tribute." I repeated.

Gale rushed from his place and pulled Katniss, who still appeared to be frozen, away and back into the crowd to my mother. I quickly gave him a thankful look, but his gray eyes were steely as he looked back into mine.

"Uh, I believe we have a volunteer." Effie stuttered, disbelief clouding her features. I stepped up the stairs one by one, realization dawning on me and the panic fading as I comprehended what I had just done.

"Dramatic turn of events here in District Twelve. Yes, well, District Twelve's very first volunteer," She motioned for me to come closer, "Come on, dear."

Standing stiffly beside her, I struggled to keep my face emotionless.

"What's your name?" Effie questioned, moving the mike in front of my face.

"Lorrelais Everdeen."

Effie looked delighted, "Well, I bet my hat that was your sister, wasn't it?"

I closed my eyes and turned my face away, "Yes."

Effie smiled broadly and turned back to the crowd, "Let's have a big hand for our very first volunteer, Lorrelais Everdeen."

She started clapping, but no one joined along with her. One by one, everyone placed their three middle fingers to their lips before stretching out their arms towards me.

I had just barely managed to choke down a sob. That meant admiration and goodbye to a loved one. I didn't know whether to cry out or feel the slightest bit flattered, so I went with both. I flashed a small, sad smile and made eye contact with my mother. She held both of my sisters against her. Even Katniss was crying.

"And now, for the boys!" Effie cried out, before heading to the glass bowl that held all of the boys names. Repeating the previous process, she pulled out a slip and went back to the microphone before opening it.

"Peeta Mellark."

Closing my eyes, I frowned and tilted my head downwards. Why him?

_One day, after weeks of no food, Katniss and I had rummaged through a garbage trying to find scraps to bring home. All that had accomplished was being berated by Mrs. Mellark, the witch of the district's bakery. But then, as we sat in the rain, Katniss having passed out on my shoulder from exhaustion, The Mellark's youngest son, Peeta came walking out holding to burnt loaves of bread with a red wheel on his cheek. Wincing at the screeching of Mrs. Mellark, I watched the boy in pity._

_Ripping the burnt pieces from the loaves, he threw them into the pig pen before catching my stare. I looked at him pleadingly with my eyes. Turning to make sure the coast was clear, he tossed the loaves at my feet before rushing back inside. Snatching them up quickly, Katniss tumbled from my shoulder groggily._

_After showing her the loaves, we ran home to share them with Prim and my mother. _

_I owed him my family's life._

Once he was situated on the stage next to me, Effie clapped enthusiastically. "These are the tributes representing District Twelve!" She place a manicured hand on both of our shoulders. "Well, come on you two. Shake hands."

Looking over slowly, I met Peeta's blue eyes with my own. I reached out and grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring shake.

"Happy Hunger Games!" Effie called out, "And may the odds be ever in your favor." She finished.

The last thing I saw before being ushered into the Justice building was the hurt and grief in the eyes of my family. I would make it out of the arena. I had to.

I caught Peeta's eye before lowering my eyes down to the ground in front of me. Almost without realizing, I was ushered into a small room with a fancy couch and plain walls.

I sat down and placed my head into my hands and took deep breaths.

But if I made it out…

My mind flashed to Peeta.

The someone I care about will have to die.

I heard the door creak open and looked up into the eyes of my family.

My resolve strengthened. If I had to kill people so as to remain with my family, then so be it.

I hugged my sisters and my mother close, not knowing if this was the last time I would ever see them.

After Katniss had given me a Mockingjay pin to wear as a token, I held it tightly in my hand.

"I'm sorry, Peeta," I whispered, "Let's hope it doesn't come down to the two of us."


	2. Chapter 2

Slowly lowering myself into the armchair next to Peeta, I looked around at all of the incredible furniture. The interior of the train was just as stylish and expensive as the exterior. The seat I was sitting in alone could probably feed the whole of District Twelve if it were sold.

Effie cleared her throat, her smile never dropping from her face.

"Two hundred miles per hour and you can barely feel a thing. I think it's one of the wonderful things about this opportunity; that even though you're here, and it's just for a little while, you get to enjoy all of this!" She beamed, motioning her hands to the tables littered with food and beautiful silverware.

Staring at her, she glance between the two of us awkwardly before rising from her seat.

"I'm going to find Haymitch. He's probably in the bar car."

After the door closed behind her, I kept my gaze firmly away from Peetas. I could feel his eyes raking over my face.

"Have you ever met him?" he questioned. Shifting my eyes toward him, I kept my head facing forward. It wouldn't be fair to him for us to become friends, only to be forced to fight for our own survival. "Haymitch?" Silence. "You know, Lorrelais, he is our mentor. He did win this thing once."

I returned my eyes back to their former place on the far wall.

"Look, you know if you don't want to talk I understand, but I just don't think there is anything wrong with getting a little help." He continued.

Turning towards him fully, I searched his blue eyes. I couldn't keep the vision of Peeta throwing my sister and I bread that one rainy night from my mind.

"I know that, but the more help I ask for, the more real this feels." I whispered, keeping our eyes locked.

His eyes widened minutely before talking quietly, "It is real."

I nodded, turning away from him again. Before I could respond, the door to our car opened and we both looked over. A tall, blonde haired man I knew from the reaping as Haymitch stumbled slightly as he made his way in. His face was covered in stubble and there were dark bags underneath his empty blue eyes.

Spotting us, he stopped and let out a breath before a sarcastic smile graced his tire face. "Congratulations." He made his way slowly over to the bar resting in the corner. Looking at the bottles, he picked one up and poured some into a glass.

We watched him in silence.

"Where's the ice?" He breathed, looking at us.

Peeta looked surprised, "I don't- I don't know." He shrugged lightly, raising an eyebrow slightly at the older man.

Muttering underneath his breath, Haymitch threw the cover of the ice tin back on the table before making his way over to us, "May I?" he mumbled, gesturing towards the chair across from us before plopping himself down.

"Okay, so uh," Peeta cleared his throat, "When do we start?"

"Woah, woah, woah. So eager," Haymitch said, moving some bangs from his face as he took a sip of his drink. "Most of you are in such a hurry."

Peeta nodded, Well, yeah. I want to know what our plane is. You're our mentor, you're supposed to-"

Haymitch interrupted, "Mentor?"

I exchanged a confused look with Peeta before I sat forward in my chair.

"Yeah, our mentor. You know, helping us stay _alive._ " I added, narrowing my eyes.

"You're supposed to tell us how to get sponsors and give us advice." Peeta rambled, looking increasingly more irritated.

"Oh, okay," Haymitch looked up, pretending to think. "Um," he paused, "Embrace the probability of your imminent death and know, in your heart, that there is nothing I can do to save you."

Frustrated, I ripped the glass from his hand and slammed it harshly on the coffee table in front of us. "Then why are you wasting our time?"

Staring at the glass on the table, he smirked, "The refreshments." He grabbed the glass back from the table and smiled coyly at us.

"I think that's enough," Peeta said, reaching to snatch the glass from Haymitch's hand.

Placing his foot against Peeta's chest quickly, he pushed him back. He sighed angrily, "You made me spill my drink." He motioned to his dress pants now soiled slightly from the alcohol. "Brand new pants. You know, I think I'll go finish this in my room."

With that, he grabbed a treat from the food table and left through the automatic door.

Peeta huffed before rising from his chair and beginning to follow him. "He's going to come around."

"Wha-? It's no use. Only thing you'll accomplish is getting covered in vomit." I reasoned.

"I'm gonna go talk to him," he replied. Once the door shut, I shook my head. I was the only one in the room, and rather than sit there doing nothing, I headed for the television. I grabbed the remote and started to flip through channels as I pulled my hair from its bun.

Stopping on a channel, I tilted my head curiously.

"_And one of my favorite arenas! The use of the rubble-"_

Realization hit me as I saw the recap of the final battle of the Seventy-third Hunger Games. I shivered as the victor of last years game slammed a brick into the other tributes head, over and over again. Long after the other boy was dead, the victor rose from the corpse and stared at the bloodied brick in his hand. His dark eyes were cold, empty. Much like Haymitch's own pair. Is that what I would have to go through to return to my family?

One thing was for certain. I would either die at the hands of another child, or become victor and return home forever changed. In my mind, it didn't matter if I won or lost.

I was dead either way.

The next morning, I walked into the food car, intent on finding something to eat, only to find Peeta, Effie, and Haymitch already seated. I awkwardly shuffled over to a chair next to Peeta and sat down. On the table were foods I have never seen before, and if I had seen them, I certainly wasn't the one who had eaten it.

I piled my plate as high as I could, intent on gaining some weight for the arena. It would give me an advantage if I wasn't starving as soon as the games began.

"You'd freeze to death first." Haymitch rolled his eyes, continuing his conversation that I had accidentally interrupted.

"No, because I'd light a fire." Peeta pointed out, intent on finding a loophole.

"That's a good way to get killed."

Curious, I lifted my eyes from my plate. "What's a good way to get killed?"

Haymitch rose an eyebrow, "Why? Do you intend to try it out?"

Disgusted, I shook my head angrily. "No, I want to know so I can avoid it."

Huffing, Haymitch shook his head, " I was just giving some life-saving advice."

I snorted lightly. Effie grumbled under her breath after hearing it.

"Like what?"

Peeta looked over," Oh, I was just asking about how to find shelter."

Spreading butter on his toast, Haymitch sarcastically continued, "Which would come in handy if you _were_ still alive."

My eyebrow twitched slightly as I tried to hold back my irritation. A repeat of my reckless actions at the reaping would most likely not go over well. I was still surprised I hadn't been arrested on the spot and the peacekeepers I hit didn't cut my tongue out of my mouth in front of the entire district. "How do you find shelter?"

"Pass the jam."

Leaning forward, my voice lowered slightly as I narrowed my eyes, "How do you find shelter?"

Pulling a flask of alcohol from inside his robe, he dumped its entire contents into his coffee. "Give me a chance to wakeup, doll face. This mentoring is very… taxing stuff."

"Can you pass the marmalade?" Slamming a knife in between his fingers, I glared angrily at him.

"No, but I have a knife if you need one." I hissed, sending him a wickedly sweet smile.

Gasping, Effie looked over from her face compact. "That is mahogany!"

I rolled my eyes at her.

"Look at you. Just killed a," He ripped the knife from the wood, "placemat. You really wanna know how to stay alive? You get people to like you." He watched my face for a reaction, and my surprise at his statement must have been what he was looking for. "Oh, not what you were expecting. When you are in the middle of the games, and you're starving, or freezing, some water, a knife, or even some matches could be the difference between life and death. And those things only come from sponsors. And to get sponsors, you have to make people like you. And right now doll face, you're not off to a real good start."

Opening my mouth to spit an insult at him, Peeta rose quickly from his chair causing all of us to look over at him. "There it is." He muttered, rushing to the window. "It's huge. That's incredible."

Without warning, the train darkened as it went through a tunnel. Not moments later, the sound of cheering could be heard from outside the train. Hesitantly, I rose from my seat and made my way over to Peeta's side. He flashed me a smile before directing it towards the citizens of the Capitol. He rose his hand and waved.

"What are you doing?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Might as well get started on earning those sponsors now." He replied.

Haymitch's words ran through my head. I had to get people to like me. Unfortunately, it seemed that was the fault both Katniss and I share.

"Come on," Peeta urged. I chanced a glance at Haymitch.

"Might wanna keep this knife. He knows what he's doing." Haymitch drawled, moving the butter knife gracefully through his fingers. Frowning, I turned back towards the crowd before forcing a brilliant smile on my face and waving enthusiastically back at them.

As we walked away from the window and readied ourselves to depart the train, I turned to Haymitch, "It's a good thing I'm a good actor then."

He rolled his eyes at me before motioning us to stand at the door of the train that when opened, would reveal us fully to our soon-to-be lifelines.

As it opened, the screaming seemed to get louder with each given second. Peeta and I stood in disbelief of it all.

Effie leaned over and whispered in my ear, "They are excited to meet the very first volunteer of District Twelve!"

My eyes widened but other than that I gave no other indication I had heard her.

My first day in the Capitol, and already I could feel the life draining out of me. Metaphorically, of course. The President wouldn't allow for one of the tributes to die… until we were placed in the arena. Then it's all, "Oh, hey guys! Didn't see you there! You know how there are twenty-four of you equipped with a bunch of pointy metal weapons? Yeah, well, we are going to need you guys to kill each other now. Thanks!"

…

Yeah, my sense of humor could use some work. Shaking myself from my thoughts, Haymitch and Effie herded us toward the Training Center. The Training Center was designed specifically to house the tributes until the games were to begin. It was where we would, train, get ready for our interviews, eat, sleep, and have the hair ripped from our skin for the next week or so. Joy.

Wincing, I bit back a groan of pain as more hair from my legs were ripped out. After hosing me off and exfoliating my skin for what had to have been the fifth time, my prep team left me in the room to wait for my stylist.

It felt like hours had past even though I'm sure it had only been a few minutes when who I assumed to be my stylist walked in. He was tall, dark-skinned and looked rather ordinary for being from the Capitol. The only thing that gave him away was the light lining of golden eyeliner around his dark eyes.

"That was one of the bravest things I've ever seen," he said, taking my hand with his own. "With your sister." he clarified. "My name is Cinna."

"Lorrelais." I returned the greeting, shaking his hand lightly with my own.

He took a seat next to me. "I'm sorry that this happened to you, and I'm here to help you in anyway that I can."

I tilted my head in confusion. "Most people just congratulate me."

"I don't see the point in that," he replied. "So tonight, they have the Tribute Parade. They take you out and show you off to the world."

I nodded and smiled bitterly. "So you're here to make me look pretty."

"I'm here to help you make an impression," he corrected. "Now usually they dress people in the clothes from their district."

I knew from watching the games every year that the tributes from my district were more often than not dressed as coal miners. "Yeah, we're always coal miners."

He shook his head, Yeah, but I don't want to do that. I want to do something that they're going to remember. Did they explain about trying to get sponsors?"

Letting out a dry chuckle, I answered, "Yeah, I got the gist of it from Haymitch. I don't think I will be getting very many if their impression of me is that same this his is."

Smiling, Cinna shook his head. "We'll see about that. I just think that somebody that brave shouldn't be dressed up in some stupid costume, now should they?"

Smiling in amusement, I studied him, "We are going to get along just fine, Cinna."

**Next chapter, the Tribute Parade! I'm hoping you guys are liking my OC so far. I tried really hard to have some similarities to Katniss because of them being siblings, but also giving her enough differences that she is still her own character and will make much different decisions that Katniss.**

**If anyone is interested, I am looking for someone to draw a picture of Lorrelais (Lore-uh-lie). If you would like to, message me. My idea of her is tall, with a strong yet very sarcastic look about her. She has a tendency to reflect insults with sarcasm, as you will see in later chapters. She has the blue eyes of her mother, and the black hair and olive skin of her father. She has a temper, and her main weapons are the bow and arrow as well as throwing knives. She wears her hair in a messy bun with side bangs. **

**Thank you if you decide to draw me a picture! If more than one is submitted, I will pick my favorite one to be the official picture of Lorrelais Everdeen. Thank you for reading thus far, I can't wait to see what you guys send in!**


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